Can Congressman Barney Frank Free Poker From UIGEA?
by Lou Krieger filed under Top Story
The office of Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, confirmed that he is considering legislation to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
A news item appearing on the Financial Times website last week was confirmed by Frank's press liaison for Poker Player Newspaper. No details regarding how this might be accomplished are available, and no timeframe was given - though Frank's staff stated that "the Congressman is still thinking about it, and has not begun to develop any new legislation."
Frank has called UIGEA one of the "stupidest laws" ever passed and adds, "I am working on legislation to cut back on this internet gambling thing... I think it's preposterous."
Rumors of Frank's support for repealing UIGEA have circulated throughout the poker community for a few weeks now, but confirmation from the Congressman's office has only just been obtained. While supporting legislation to overturn or modify UIGEA might not be sufficient to accomplish the task, just bringing it forward could signal the US Department of Justice to discontinue their witch hunt against the online gaming community.
Poker Player Newspaper also learned that Reps. Shelley Berkley, (D-NV), and Jon Porter, (R-NV), will sponsor legislation requiring the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an 18-month study of online wagering. This study has been talked about for months, and has the support of the American Gaming Association (AGA), which represents the commercial casino industry.
This study is likely to provide assurances to Congress that safeguards are in place to adequately regulate online gaming. It will also set the stage for legislation that would be required to enter this market after the next Presidential election.
On a somewhat related note, rumor mills are rife with the possibility that charges will soon be dropped against John Lefebvre and Stephen Lawrence, the former Neteller directors charged with violating the 1961 Wire Act, which deals with the illegality of sports book operations.
A statement from the office of Michael J. Garcia, United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, says that the arrests were made for the "creation and operation of an internet payment services company that facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars of illegal gambling proceeds from US citizens to the owners of various internet gambling companies located overseas."
None of this speaks to poker, although it's clear that these arrests and Neteller's subsequent pull back from the US market dealt a strong blow to the poker community too. |
